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GK mb200 ultra light head?

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#1,041
J-wall said:
Well, the early ones did for sure, but it seems that the newer ones may only be equipped with the Speakon, not the combo.

If the speaker jack is green, it is the combo jack, if it is black, it is speakon only. The manuals online have not been updated across the board to reflect what is seemingly a design change with newer models.
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that explains why i wasn´t able to put it in there o.O
luckily i bought a cable that has speakon connector on one side and a 1/4 on the other

sent mine back as well, loud hissing all the time and even louder buzzing when something´s plugged into the aux in :crying:
 
#1,043
Avezzano said:
speakon speakon speakon... oh boys: let alone the advantage of just using a wirecutter and a screwdriver vs. the soldering iron (but you just do this once in the cable lifetime, supposedly), would anybody that is not a speakon connector seller please sincerely explain to me which is the big, real, concrete advantage of this speakon frenzy vs. the standard jack that made its honest job for decades (and that still continues this unacknowledge task with much humility)? I mean, I could understand if we were talking about the bass: you have a locked in connection, so in case of wrong moves... but the head and the cab are just there, standing still on the floor one on top of the other; then once you plug them it's there... which is this seemingly "huge" difference?

:rolleyes:
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Dont forget to ask:

1) How many times while you were performing has your 1/4" speaker cable been yanked out and allowed to short the amplifier? (I can think of none).

2) How many times while you were performing has someone walked up to your bassamp and touched the outer shell of your 1/4" connector and received a high voltage shock because you hit a sustained cord at the end of a song (I can think of none).

Does the Speakon handle high power transfer (1000W or more) better than a 1/4" connector due to better contact area? IMHO yes.
 
#1,044
Avezzano said:
...would anybody that is not a speakon connector seller please sincerely explain to me which is the big, real, concrete advantage of this speakon frenzy vs. the standard jack that made its honest job for decades (and that still continues this unacknowledge task with much humility)? I mean, I could understand if we were talking about the bass: you have a locked in connection, so in case of wrong moves... but the head and the cab are just there, standing still on the floor one on top of the other; then once you plug them it's there... which is this seemingly "huge" difference?

:rolleyes:
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There are a multiple advantages, whose applicability or importance will vary depending on application...

1.) Increased power handling
2.) Much stronger and more secure connector design
3.) Immune to internal short risks
4.) Immune to (dis)connect (basically, external) short circuit risks
5.) Impossible to confuse with instrument cables

Bottom line is, these connectors were specifically designed to solve all the problems people have had with BNC, terminal, and yes, 1/4" connections in the past (though most likely typically in much bigger and more complex applications such as large PAs).

So in short, they're just a MUCH better solution, so my question would be, why NOT use it?

This is not me saying everybody should go out and dump all their 1/4" stuff and refit old cabs and such. Nah, be practical about it. BUT, given a choice, I don't see much point in choosing inferior older methods, myself. Connectors are cheap (much cheaper than amps and speakers, for example :)), and you can re-use existing cable no problem.
 
#1,046
Avezzano said:
P.S.: 1000 watts or more???? :hmm:
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Yeah, read my post again. These weren't designed just for bass rigs, and the applicability of each benefit will vary based on application (in this case, bass rigs).

I just tried to write the response generally so it could be complete, as apposed to bass rig specific, since they weren't made just for bass rig applications, though there are bass rigs out there with that much power. :)
 
#1,047
How many times while you were performing has someone walked up to your bassamp and touched the outer shell of your 1/4" connector and received a high voltage shock because you hit a sustained cord at the end of a song (I can think of none).
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well, the above was actually referred to the bass amp, so it is what had me puzzled! But in any case I do not play loud heavy metal nor do I play in a big act, so... none beside me will ever be electrocuted!!!

;)
 
#1,048
Avezzano said:
...almost convinced

;)

P.S.: 1000 watts or more???? :hmm:
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There are bass amp set-ups running 2000W and more these days. The Carvin B2000 will run over 2000W at 2 ohms. Some people are running 3000W with a rack and power amps. Its not inconcievable. I run 750W and my drummer is asking me to turn down.




How many times while you were performing has someone walked up to your bassamp and touched the outer shell of your 1/4" connector and received a high voltage shock because you hit a sustained cord at the end of a song (I can think of none).
Click to expand...

I said this because the new class D bass amps have the shell of the 1/4" connector floating above ground. The Class A/B amps had the shell at ground potential. With the shell of the connector seeing the full voltage of speaker potential it is conceivable that you can get a shock by touching it while playing. My point is that the chances of this are very low. It doesnt matter what style of music you are playing.
 
#1,049
To understand the Speakon "frenzy," it helps to look at it from a pure engineering perspective. If 1/4" had not already been in widespread use, no engineer would choose it for speaker connections today. It simply has too many counts against it, particularly exposed contacts.

When a design is subjected to regulatory approval, it's going to be examined by an engineer who probably doesn't care about the legacy of music gear design. A design with exposed contacts is going to receive unusually close attention, and the testing agency may require additional documentation and testing that costs money to perform.

So, at some point it just gets a whole lot easier to ditch the 1/4" jacks. Different amp makers will take different approaches, because it's still somewhat of a judgment call.

As for the Speakon connector itself, I think that Neutrik was simply at the right place at the right time. They saw a potential need to bring sanity to high power speaker connections, and came out with a great product.
 
#1,053
You can always buy a speakon to 1/4" speaker cable if you really need to have that 1/4" jack ;) My MB200 has the speakon only. I have had a couple of them before with the combo jack, but I rarely use anything but speakon. At any rate, its a killer little amp especially for the price.
 
#1,054
Just received mine on thursday. This little guy is awesome! Through my bergantino ht112 it seemed to tame the mid forward voicing of the berg just a bit. Sounds very balanced. Hooked up to my genz Benz uber212. There is some serious volume with this cab. That too sounds great and has deep low end extension.

If anyone is interested my settings treble 10 o'clock, high mids noon, low mids 2 o'clock, bass noon
 
#1,057
fdeck said:
To understand the Speakon "frenzy," it helps to look at it from a pure engineering perspective. If 1/4" had not already been in widespread use, no engineer would choose it for speaker connections today. It simply has too many counts against it, particularly exposed contacts.

When a design is subjected to regulatory approval, it's going to be examined by an engineer who probably doesn't care about the legacy of music gear design. A design with exposed contacts is going to receive unusually close attention, and the testing agency may require additional documentation and testing that costs money to perform.

So, at some point it just gets a whole lot easier to ditch the 1/4" jacks. Different amp makers will take different approaches, because it's still somewhat of a judgment call.

As for the Speakon connector itself, I think that Neutrik was simply at the right place at the right time. They saw a potential need to bring sanity to high power speaker connections, and came out with a great product.
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+1

Really good post... thanks....
 
#1,058
Back in the old days, the really old days, we used to use AC plugs and sockets for speaker connections in heavy-duty applications. The plugs we used were the ones with one prong rotated 90 degrees. That helped with maintaining polarity. I think they were rated for 20 amps. They worked great, and no one ever had a problem, unless...

Well, you know...
 
#1,059
craig.p said:
Back in the old days, the really old days, we used to use AC plugs and sockets for speaker connections in heavy-duty applications. The plugs we used were the ones with one prong rotated 90 degrees. That helped with maintaining polarity. I think they were rated for 20 amps. They worked great, and no one ever had a problem, unless...

Well, you know...
Click to expand...

Yes I know, have been around for it. Makes one heck of a noise......for a short period........:p
 
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